More and more good news on the injury front from Viera: Michael Morse emerged from his first game back from a lat strain feeling strong, so he's in the lineup again tonight serving as DH. And Bryce Harper's calf strain has improved enough to convince manager Davey Johnson to put the 19-year-old back in right field tomorrow night against the Braves.

In the meantime, plenty of regulars in the lineup tonight against Detroit, including Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa, Ryan Zimmerman (who is absolutely raking at the plate right now), Morse, Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos. Edwin Jackson becomes the first member of the rotation to make his third start.

And the best news of the day: This game is on TV. So sit back and enjoy some Grapefruit League action this evening, and enjoy the ongoing conversation here…

A note on the pitching line up for the Nats for the next week. Steve M is correct in that a shuffling of the rotation needs to happen at some point.First there is a scheduled off day next Tuesday and a split squad day scheduled for 29th. Those two dates plus the desire to see a guy or two scheduled to be starters in the minors throw for the big club will give Davey ample opportunity to adjust the rotation.

FeelWood:Not sure this is 100% accurate but I ran into a MASN employee at the gym who swears they try to keep everything exactly 50/50 between Nationals & O's. I did look at the ST schedule and there are the same number of games for each team broadcast. I am wondering if this group has specific examples of what MASN does. I watch Comcast because of the great job Kelli Johnson does with our boys so I could not give examples but I did let him know that the blog I read is continually harping on the unfair coverage biased toward Baltimore. Like I said earlier, he claims that in their production meetings they work very hard to make sure things are equal.

sjm308, why are you addressing your MASN complaints to me? I merely reported that they showed the broadcast times on their web page. As for equality between Nationals and Orioles programming, I wouldn't know since I only watch MASN for games, not for their other stuff. But their staffing level for games is certainly not equal between O's and Nats. Nats broadcast team has only Bob and FP. O's broadcast team has Gary Thorne, Jim Palmer, Jim Hunter, the late Mike Flanagan until he died, and Amber Theoharis (presumably, since she still works at MASN and Debbi Taylor doesn't any more). For Nats Xtra there is Johnny, Ray, my brother Phil on occasion and Byron Kerr on occasion. O's Xtra has Tom Davis/Jim Hunter, Rick Dempsey, Dave Johnson, Roch Kubatko and Amber Theoharis, all pretty regularly. Clear advantage to the Orioles in numbers, and that's not even getting into the quality of the individual "personalities", which is also advantage Orioles, IMHO.

MicheleS said… Starting a new campain:FEED Det the Strasburger! March 13, 2012 3:08 PM Yes, please, many of them! In all seriousness, its not necessarily eating much more, it is building muscle mass through leg presses and squats like we discussed in Stammen's glutes and upper thighs.I am probably so disenchanted with Detwiler because he is one of those guys that has been with the organization about 5 years and still hasn't come in to camp in the "best shape of his life" and I say that with all due respect using my 20/20 vision.Stammen, JZim, Lannan, and Stras all added posterior girth. Its the Billy Wagner principle that you don't have to be a big guy as your strength and last bit of endurance actually comes from your lower body or else you tend to overthrow with your arm causing arm fatigue.Detwiler will never last the rigors of 180 inning season until he builds body mass.To Tcostant, there's no way the Nats release Lannan. Way too valuable and you are so wrong. There are 5 or 6 teams that desperately need LH starting pitching but I'm not even sure they trade Lannan unless they get good value back.

Steve M – I think your right, I think he'll be traded for the best offer. But the Nats in my option with not pick up any of his 2012 salary; so a deal will only happen if the Nats don't have to pay. If the only deals they fine are ones where they need to pay a peice of his salary; than I do think they would release him. I think it's a 5% chance.

Tconstant, I don't understand that logic. Why don't you think they'd pick up any of his salary in the right deal, or hang on to him in the alternative? It's not like they don't have the budget this year.

It is likely too much to ask for…….but will FP and Bob talk about the huge whole that IAN D creates in this roster. LEAD OFF, CF, BENCH BATSThis team is one or two moves short of challenging for the post season. All of season many of you said just wait till Feb. then March….well it will be next year soon….Past time really and Rizzo has failed again to pull the trigger on the moves he himself pointed out back tin Oct. 2011 that were key to this club making the next step.

Though it wont happen, I would much rather the Nats release Gorzelanny or Wang than Lannan.It's really bizarre having 4 (including Detwiler) number 5 starting pitchers on the team. The whole situation is strange to me.I wish they weren't stuck with Wang. The only reason they signed him a couple years ago was because the pitching at that time was awful.That's no longer the case.Just a few of my thoughts

Wait, he's your brother? I figured *you* were Phil Wood. :-)Feel Wood said… sjm308, why are you addressing your MASN complaints to me? I merely reported that they showed the broadcast times on their web page. As for equality between Nationals and Orioles programming, I wouldn't know since I only watch MASN for games, not for their other stuff. But their staffing level for games is certainly not equal between O's and Nats. Nats broadcast team has only Bob and FP. O's broadcast team has Gary Thorne, Jim Palmer, Jim Hunter, the late Mike Flanagan until he died, and Amber Theoharis (presumably, since she still works at MASN and Debbi Taylor doesn't any more). For Nats Xtra there is Johnny, Ray, my brother Phil on occasion and Byron Kerr on occasion. O's Xtra has Tom Davis/Jim Hunter, Rick Dempsey, Dave Johnson, Roch Kubatko and Amber Theoharis, all pretty regularly. Clear advantage to the Orioles in numbers, and that's not even getting into the quality of the individual "personalities", which is also advantage Orioles, IMHO. March 13, 2012 3:33 PM

The reason to flip Lannan is that most teams don't pay $5 mil for a 5th or 6th starter. If you feel that a pitcher won't be trusted with a post season start (The Nats won't trust Lannan with a post season start) then it's reasonable to use someone less expensive for that role.

Morse should be back at first, Harper in LF and Werth in RF with a true MLB center fielder out there…Danny as SS and Mark D at 2nd Base…that is a team that will win in May once trades are made and Harper's FA is delayed by a month in Minor Leagues…Adam L…….does anyone really believe he is health and able to play a full season? Not me.

JayB, newsflash; the Nats don't need anything to contend for a post season. You don't need 8 all stars to compete (Ask the Cards or the Giants). The last piece missing is Bryce Harper. When Harper is ready this is as good a team as any in the division.

Not to mention, getting to the post-season in the first place is why you have as much pitching as you can get your hands on. The fifth starter won't get 30 starts, most likely, but those starts he does get all count. If CMW turns out to be the best 5th starter in the league this season, that's pretty impressive, and he's a bargain.

Sofa said:Fifth starters almost never get used in a post-season anyway. Jane says:So we will be using JZimm, Gio and EJax in October, because Stras will be shut down for the season. He will play the FOLLOWING October.Can't wait for the BASEBALL ON TV! Woohoo!GYFNG!

I think Fukodome would have been a good signing this past winter.And he could have been had for 1 million $.He's not an elite outfielder, but he's better than a bench guy, gets on base and could have been very valuable for the Nats if Harper starts in AAA or LaRoche is injured and Morse moves to 1B.Oh well, that didn't happen.

Dirks is the name that has been thrown around by Tigers' fans as possible return for Lannan. Fellow insiders let us know how he is.If you didn't know already, Bixler hit a walk-off 3 run home run against Phillies.

JayB, if you want DeRosa at second, you're not paying enough attention to ST. He dropped a totally routine DP ball (but got the runner at first so it didn't count as an error) that would have gotten Wang out, unscathed, of what ended up being a 2 run inning for the Mets last Saturday. Sure, it was just one play in ST and everyone makes errors sometimes. But he just didn't convey the comfort level at second that either Espi or Lombo have. And given the youth of our pitching staff and the psychological edge a solid defense will give a pitcher, the Nats should NOT regard DeRosa as a regular starter anywhere if they want to contend. He's fine as a general backup and one of Davey's hairy-chested bats off the bench.

Rizzo's off-season roster management for the rotation: big win!; for the pen: win!; for the bench: should be a win; but for the lineup: epic fail!Leadoff and the two hole are looking to be woeful. Desmond's got no chance to improve his OBP by even 10% and Espi can't hit lefty at this point. Both guys are K machines.David DeJeuss or Fukudome could have been had. Trade might have pulled Andres Torres. Freaking Juan Pierre — they could have had that guy with any major league contract (as he took non guaranteed money from the Philles). They went after Cameron and Ankiel — two guys hoping to hit 20 bombs and bat maybe .250 with a ton of Ks – nothing close to a top of the order guy.Right now the Nats have no one to lead off and the 2 hole looks lousy too. Zim's gonna hit 30 HR's and bat .320 and knock in maybe 80 RBI as we miss the playoffs because we've got 2 guys who are likely to make more than their share of non-productive outs at 1 and 2. Maybe Lannan gets moved for a MLB-ready guy who can bat at the top AND who fits the current roster for playing time, but that is going to be a tough get for Rizzo. Lombo might be ready to play a lot, who knows, and maybe they can platoon Bernadina and DeRosa at 2 and bat Espi lower where his power is a plus and his OBP less of a negative as he plays SS; but that calls for Lombo being at least solidly better than Desi, for the Shark to hit well against RH and for DeRosa to have his swing back strong and healthy – none is a given. I think that Rizzo's gotta make a move for someone who can bat 1 or 2 as the current options are not MLB caliber much less playoff caliber guys. This club is too good to have holes this big without management at least trying to fill the gaps with guys who have a more realistic chance to help the club win in the roles.

Why on earth would you want a 37-year-old coming off of two injured seasons as your second baseman? Better to have Lombo there even if he hits .180. We've got a young pitching staff and an organizational philosophy that wants them inducing as many ground balls as possible. Infield defense is absolutely critical.

Prepping for the game: Sushi, Glass of wine, and RZ Green Shersey (we are close to St Pats Day). Getting in the best shape of my life (for sitting and watching games). Remember it's a Marathon, Not a Sprint and you must pace yourself!B25GN! GYFNG!

I am thinking DeRosa gets most of his PT in RF until Harper gets his shot and that he'll find his way in at 1B against tough lefties too. I'd love to see Lombo play 2B and have them shift Espi to SS, but the club STILL somehow, amazingly, defying all logic, believes in Desmond. I beleive that Ian should go north with the team from Viera and keep going north until he gets to Cuse — he's just not ready for prime time and he's not getting better.Ian is the weakest link and they should vote him off the island or not hand him a red rose he should get slimed or whatever it takes to not have him on my TV when I watch Nats games all summer long pulling for the club to make the playoffs.

Fun celebrity sighting, NatsJack! There will be a lot more of that now. Unkyd, you catching how even when our guy hits a lead-off double, he gets no love here? Man.And it's even warm here, as in NOT Florida! Ah, BASEBALL.

Sorry I'm late, but was trying to make and eat dinner along with watching the game. I can multitask okay, but adding in commenting would have been a stretch. The owl looks to be in midseason form. Michaels, not so much.

GrandstanderI just got around to rewinding and looking again, and I think you are right. That sure looked like a homerun for Desi to me (that must have rolled back under the front fence). Did anyone else get a better view?

Okay, I have to comment, Dad with 2 kids over the 3B dugout. Dad has Cardinals shirt on, Baby with WV hat, Small child has Rays shirt and a Phillies hat. And Dad is drinking a bud. That is one messed up family

MichelleS, My daughter once did a school project on families and society They talked about what make a mixed marriage and how hard it can be. Her contribution: a marriage between an AL person and a NL person. Hard. Or — and this was her "I couldn't do this" point — a Baseball Person and Not a Baseball Person.And she was serious. Whatever else we did wrong with these kids, we got THAT right. By the by, her boyfriend is becoming A Baseball Person.

Well, It's not like he can take the kids to LF for the Tiki bar/World Of Beer to get a better one. And oddly, No Wife around to help out. She must not be a baseball person.. JaneB.. raising the kids right…Good to see the daughter is making a convert.. I am working on Nephew II and seeing if I can make him a Baseball fan (bribes/food) since Nephew I can't seem to stay of Double Secret Probation.

Nieces/nephew not much into baseball. But I'm working on my sisters. Was interesting watching televised Giants playoff games with my two sisters and younger brother when we were all gathered during my older brother's final illness. Young brother follows AL baseball, baby sister sorta follows baseball, and other sister not so much. Brian Wilson on deck with two outs and men on. There's a bit of feinting re. pinch-hitting for him. Brother and I are saying it's all for show. Sure enough, Wilson gets the at-bat so he can continue pitching next inning. But he swings and grounds out to end the inning. My baby sis: why didn't he just bunt? My brother and I explained about the two outs and all. My other sis: wow, they have some good-looking young men on this team. I like the tight uni pants. (Hey, we take the interest however we can get it.)

Trent Jewett — Yes. Thanks! I hope Drew doesn't feel bad. It was kind of funny. ish. What was the deal with the play Zimm made at second? That was the play — the guy was farthest from the plate. What am I missing I know it must be basic because everyone was so shocked.

Hail to the beer man!Hedwig? Hmmm. I can kinda see it, but it makes me think of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," which may not be the mythology we're going for, there.I was figuring "Who" is too obvious, but there's a baseball tie-in, at least. "I Don't Know" might work, but maybe that's just my counter-snarky Post-Modernism. OH, wait, I KNOW: Prince.

What was the deal with the play Zimm made at second? That was the play — the guy was farthest from the plate. What am I missing I know it must be basic because everyone was so shocked.JaneB: 1. That play's physically very, very hard to accomplish if you're planning on it, nevermind ad libbing, for an athlete, nevermind a normal person. andB. the field awareness to be able to know, running toward home and therefore not facing second, that he had a play, is high-level stuff.Then there's that throw. Did he get lucky, or did he purposely throw that big hook out to second? That ball started out heading nowhere NEAR second.

trying again:OK, actually, there IS something a baserunner on third can do on a popup the third baseman drops in short left with the bases loaded and no outs. There was no one covering third (pitcher is backing up home there), so he did not have to be near the bag, and that might have made the difference there.

Sending good vibes to your, ummm, plumbing, Unkyd.One of my favorite baseball things: when the pitcher is moving off the mound before the ump calls it. Or before the catch happens. Livan was the king of that. But Clip has it down, too.

Umm.. why Jake?Also, Jane, there is a Nats Watching Party at Duffy's? Sec 3, correct me if I am wrong.Sadly, I will be working that day, but Cough Cough, Sniffle, I will be doing the work at home in front of the TV.

Sec 3- Good point you made at 8:40.I was scouring my mind for something the runner at 3rd could have done, and as usual came up with nothing :-)On the other hand, you definitely don't want to turn 1 out into 2 (if the ball had been caught and the runner was doubled off of 3rd.)Best to err on the side of caution, I think.

Michele et al., re: Jake.Long long ago, in a blog somewhere else, when the Nats were classically bad, several of us decided we needed a rally animal. Monkeys were already taken, and given the state of the franchise at the time, we figured it should be an "anti-monkey" animal. Possums are native to this area up here, and they play dead, which the Nats offense did frequently. So, enter Elwood, the Rally Possum. The idea was that the fans would have to cheer loud enough to "WAKE UP, ELWOOD!!!" to wake up the Nats' offense. Elwood was partly in honor of Elwood Blues, the John Belushi character in Blues Brothers, and thus the owl would be Jake, for Jake Blues, the Dan Akroyd role. But since Elwood, being a mascot like Screech, was well over six feet tall, but no one ever saw him, we later realized he was also a pooka, like Harvey, the rabbit in the Jimmy Stewart movie of the same name. We had a LOT of time on our hands in those days.

Cwj, thanks. The point was that NO ONE was covering third, so he could not possibly be doubled off. He should be as far from third as the closest defender, more or less, and on that play, no one was close.

Sec 3 – that's just low. I did check the box score and it might just be worth staying up to see Jayson Werth hit a home run. I already noted that RZ is in mid-season form.I hope he hits a bucket of balls right out of Citizen's Bank Park. Oh , and maybe out of that LasVegas brothel-looking stadium in Miami, too.